She hails from New Zealand, she's named after an oft-forgotten 80s fantasy film and she released one of the best albums of last year. Oh, and Christina Aguilera is apparently so taken with her hit 'My Delirium' that she's covering it for her next album. As she releases new single 'Paris Is Burning', we called Ladyhawke - known to her friends, family and passport control as Pip Brown - for a bit of a natter.

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What inspired 'Paris Is Burning'?
"Well, I wrote in 2007 after my first time in Paris. It was my first time anywhere in Europe bar London actually. I spent a long weekend there with a good friend of mine and just completely fell in love with the city. I felt like I was somewhere quite exotic, you know? The day I got back I wrote 'Paris Is Burning' so it obviously made quite an impression on me."

The lyrics make your Parisian experience sound quite debauched. Was it?
"Pretty debauched, yeah! I drank loads of champagne, which I never normally do because I always drink beer, but I just thought 'When in Rome...' Drinking champagne, watching bands, checking out the restaurants and cafes... it was pretty cool."

A lot of reviewers have compared you to Stevie Nicks. What do you think of that?
"The Stevie Nicks thing is obviously very flattering but I think I sound nothing like her. We have vaguely similar hair but that's about as far as it goes."

I imagine she always drinks champagne and never drinks beer...
"Yeah, totally! But actually I thought those reviews were really lazy. If you delve into the record a bit more, you can tell I'm coming from all sorts of different places - not just the eighties. I wasn't trying to be any one era or genre when I made the record and that's in no way an indication of the way my next record is going to sound."

Have you started work on it yet?
"I have. Well, I've attempted to start, but it's been really difficult because I haven't had any time off for a really long time. I've been trying to get some ideas down whenever I get a few spare moments, but because of the last year my head's a bit confused and overwhelmed with everything. I think I need a decent amount of time in the studio to get my ideas straight."

The B-side to 'Paris Is Burning' is your cover of Britney's 'Womanizer'. Are you a big fan of that song?
"It's funny, I wasn't until I started doing the song. I liked the song before, but when I started performing it with a string section and a pianist, I realised how cool it actually is. It's actually really difficult to sing live because there's no room to breathe at all - there's no gaps or anything. I'm definitely a fan of the song now."

Are you a fan of Britney generally?
"I love Britney, she's wicked! I haven't heard her whole album, but I'm liking the road she's going down now. The people she's working with have given her this really cool electro vibe and it's quite adventurous."

From one pop princess to another... Christina Aguilera's supposed to have covered your song 'My Delirium'. Have you heard anything about that?
"Everyone's been asking me about that, but I know nothing about it! I'd be really intrigued to see how she'd tackle the song. I mean, what angle would she take it from? Her vocal range is insanely good and I'm just a lazy singer! I mean, I've kinda got this rock thing going on, whereas she's definitely got this soul sister vibe. My immediate thought was 'Why would she want to cover it?' It's not like anything she's ever done before."

If she asked, would you give her permission to cover the song?
"I'd say, 'Can I be involved somehow? Can I oversee how the music gets recorded?' It would be pretty cool to work with her."

Finally, there are cats on your album cover and all over your MySpace page. Are you a bit obsessed?
"Totally! I think it's their personalities. I love that they're such intelligent, independent animals. Humans are under the impression that they're the master of the cat, but it's actually the other way round - the cat is pretty much the master of the human. A cat knows if it's nice to its owner it's going to get fed and petted. I like the cat's attitude. They're manipulative little animals."

Do you have a cat at the moment?
"I can't have one because I'm touring, but I had one growing up. He was called Tiger and he was a real b**tard. He was an alright cat until we got our dog Miffy, but then he just turned into a complete horrible nightmare. He'd scratch me at every opportunity and he was just really mean. In his old age he started to get a bit senile but it brought on this really awesome personality. He would come up to me and cuddle me - it was like he'd been possessed by a nice cat! All his teeth fell out though."